Stephen Pipes Griffiths

     GRIFFITHS, Stephen Pipes, 76, PRESQUE ISLE, March 4, 2015. Spring interment will be at Fairmount Cemetery, Presque Isle. Arrangements are under the care of Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, Presque Isle.

    PRESQUE ISLE – Stephen Pipes Griffiths, 76, a lifelong resident of Presque Isle, died peacefully on March 4, 2015. Steve was born in Presque Isle on March 12, 1938 to Dr. Eugene Benjamin and Kathryn (Pipes) Griffiths. 
    He attended Presque Isle schools where he was a member of the basketball and baseball teams at PIHS. As a young man, he also played with a semi professional baseball league in the summers. He was quite musical and played the Saxophone with a local band.
    After graduating from PIHS, Steve served three years in the U.S. Army at Fort Dix. He attended Ricker College and then went on to graduate with a teaching degree from The Aroostook State Teachers College. He later earned a Master’s in Education from the University of Maine. Steve enjoyed his 32-year career in education. His early years were spent at Pine Street School and then teaching math at Skyway Middle School. His students always remembered him as an excellent teacher who was professional, firm and fair.
    Steve married Lois (Goodine) Griffiths on September 9, 1963.Together they raised four children. A dedicated father, Steve taught his children the value of education, a love of the outdoors and an appreciation of hard work. As a grandfather to eight, he continued to pass down these values.
    The family home on State Street was another source of great pride for Steve. He meticulously renovated and cared for it through the years. Many a neighbor would remark that a summer never passed that Steve did not paint one side of the home. He also found great pleasure in “puttering” at the family’s camp at Echo Lake. His handyman skills kept him busy not only at home but also around town, as he spent many a summer painting houses with his longtime friend, Walter Adams.
    Steve was an avid skier and shared his love of the sport as a volunteer instructor and snow cat operator for the Quoggy Jo Ski Club. He also loved to golf and was a member of the Presque Isle Country Club.
    Lois and Steve celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children and grandchildren in September of 2013. Together they agreed that their family was their greatest sense of pride and accomplishment.
    Steve is survived by his wife, Lois; their four children: Ann Griffiths Peterson and her husband, Eric, of Hollis; Matthew Griffiths and his wife, Diane, of South Portland; Adam Griffiths and his wife, Kathy, of Scarborough; and Sarah Griffiths and her husband, Don Borchert, of Falmouth. He has eight grandchildren: Benjamin and William Peterson; Hunter, Kathryn and Andrew Griffiths; Alden and Harrison Griffiths; and Mamie Borchert. He is also survived by his brother, the Hon. David Griffiths, of Presque Isle; and sister, Jean Ives of Kentucky.
    Funeral services were held 12 noon, Saturday, March 7, 2015, at Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, 30 Church St., Presque Isle with Rev. Kyle Doustou, officiating. A reception followed the service in the reception room at Duncan-Graves Funeral Home. Spring interment will be at Fairmount Cemetery, Presque Isle. The family requests that donations in Steve’s name be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, www.cff.org or to the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging, P.O. Box 1288, Presque Isle, ME 04769. Online condolences may be expressed at www.duncan-graves.com.